So, it was already late July, which meant we had been in America for about a month.

Finally, my ID arrived in the mail—a plastic card, a US personal identification document that we needed to register our car and get those coveted license plates so we could legally drive our legitimately purchased vehicle. Once we got the ID, we followed the same old routine: hopped in the car and drove to Manteo for the plates. We went into the familiar pharmacy and said, "Hey, we have our ID now, let's get this registered." This time we got a bit further—they gave us the vehicle registration card, we paid $100, and then we got stuck again. It turned out the car required a vehicle inspection, which we didn't have. They gave us a temporary 3-day permit to drive legally so we could get the inspection done. That same day, we drove to a randomly chosen auto shop to get the inspection and finally get our plates.

It wasn't as easy as it seemed. Although our car was running well by then (we had "tinkered" with it a bit, changed the spark plugs, etc.), it still had one problem that wasn't very important to us—a hole in the exhaust. The car was a bit loud. But we didn't pay attention to it, knowing the car was just for the summer and we'd sell it in a couple of months. But we couldn't pass the American inspection. We tried 3 times in total—the first guy didn't like our exhaust and offered to fix it for $200. We told him where to go. The second one didn't like that our parking brake wasn't working. He got the same response as the first. And the third one didn't like a tiny hole in our taillight. He also offered to fix it for an astronomical sum. In the state of North Carolina, an inspection costs $13. In the end, $39 was wasted on Americans who just wanted to "make a quick buck." We had to call in some Mexican acquaintances who advised us to get the inspection from Jean Carlo, an auto mechanic, one of the four legal Mexicans (out of 3-4 thousand) on the island. For $30, he passed the inspection WITHOUT the car even being there. And you talk about America. You could pass an inspection with a bicycle there. Finally, on August 1st, we got our coveted OBX41649 plates for our clunker.

Before I forget: to legally register a car (otherwise you simply won't be able to drive it), you need insurance. The best option is to buy it online at geico.com. It costs about $35 per driver per month. We got insurance for me and my brother, so we had to pay $70.